Life in jail for man who raped girlfriend so she could marry no-one else

Dubai court heard how attacker dumped his girlfriend after the assault.

DUBAI // A man who raped his girlfriend to ensure she could not marry anyone else, then dumped her, was yesterday sentenced to life in prison.

The Emirati F?A, 24, proposed to his girlfriend, 28, in a text message but she decided not to reply.

“[F?A then] called me to tell me about his intention to marry me,” the girlfriend, also Emirati, told prosecutors. “I told him we didn’t know each other well enough.”

On January 6 this year he told her he had been in a car accident and wanted to see her. He said he would show her the house where they would live if they married.

“Under his insistence I met him in front of the house,” said the girlfriend. He asked her to go inside but she refused. He slapped her, grabbed her by the neck, dragged her into a bedroom and locked the door.

“I tried to get out of the room but he slapped me and dragged me to bed,” said the girlfriend.

He told her he wanted to have sex with her so she could not marry any other man. She tried to break free but he overpowered her and raped her. Afterwards, he took pictures of her topless.

After the rape he stopped taking her calls and she became afraid he would not marry her. She then contacted the police.

At the Criminal Court, the boyfriend claimed “everything was with her consent”, but his claim was rejected and he was sentenced to life in prison – 25 years.

The verdict is subject to appeal within 15 days.